GET USER MEMORY

Retrieves data stored at the user level, accessible across sessions and bots. This is the companion to SET USER MEMORY for reading persistent user data.

Syntax

value = GET USER MEMORY("key")

Parameters

Returns

The stored value, or empty string ("") if the key doesn’t exist.

Description

GET USER MEMORY retrieves persistent data associated with a specific user. This data:

• Persists across sessions - Available when user returns days/weeks later
• Persists across bots - Accessible from any bot the user interacts with
• Returns original type - Objects, arrays, strings, numbers preserved
• Returns empty on miss - No error if key doesn’t exist

Examples

Basic Usage

' Retrieve user preferences
language = GET USER MEMORY("language")
timezone = GET USER MEMORY("timezone")
theme = GET USER MEMORY("theme")

TALK "Your settings: " + language + ", " + timezone + ", " + theme

Check If User Is Returning

' Personalized greeting based on stored name
name = GET USER MEMORY("name")

IF name = "" THEN
    TALK "Hello! I don't think we've met. What's your name?"
    HEAR name
    SET USER MEMORY "name", name
ELSE
    TALK "Welcome back, " + name + "! How can I help you today?"
END IF

Retrieve Complex Objects

' Get stored user profile
profile = GET USER MEMORY("profile")

IF profile <> "" THEN
    TALK "Hello " + profile.name + "!"
    TALK "Your plan: " + profile.plan
    TALK "Member since: " + profile.signupDate
ELSE
    TALK "Please complete your profile first."
END IF

Cross-Bot Data Access

' Support bot accessing sales data
lastPurchase = GET USER MEMORY("lastPurchase")

IF lastPurchase <> "" THEN
    TALK "I can see your recent order #" + lastPurchase.orderId
    TALK "Purchased on: " + lastPurchase.date
    TALK "Amount: $" + lastPurchase.amount
    TALK "How can I help with this order?"
ELSE
    TALK "I don't see any recent purchases. How can I help?"
END IF

Retrieve User Facts for AI Context

' Load user facts into context for personalization
occupation = GET USER MEMORY("fact_occupation")
interests = GET USER MEMORY("fact_interests")
company = GET USER MEMORY("fact_company")

IF occupation <> "" THEN
    SET CONTEXT "user_occupation" AS occupation
END IF

IF interests <> "" THEN
    SET CONTEXT "user_interests" AS interests
END IF

' Now AI responses will be personalized based on these facts

Default Values Pattern

' Get with fallback to default
language = GET USER MEMORY("language")
IF language = "" THEN
    language = "en-US"
END IF

' Or use inline default
theme = GET USER MEMORY("theme")
IF theme = "" THEN theme = "light"

TALK "Using language: " + language + ", theme: " + theme

Session Continuity

' Resume conversation from previous session
lastTopic = GET USER MEMORY("lastTopic")
lastQuestion = GET USER MEMORY("lastQuestion")

IF lastTopic <> "" THEN
    TALK "Last time we were discussing " + lastTopic
    TALK "You asked: " + lastQuestion
    TALK "Would you like to continue from there?"
    HEAR continueChoice AS BOOLEAN
    
    IF continueChoice THEN
        ' Resume previous conversation
        SET CONTEXT "topic" AS lastTopic
    END IF
END IF

Related Keywords

Comparison: User Memory vs Bot Memory

Error Handling

' GET USER MEMORY never throws - returns empty on missing key
value = GET USER MEMORY("nonexistent_key")
' value = ""

' Always check for empty before using
data = GET USER MEMORY("important_data")
IF data = "" THEN
    TALK "Data not found. Please provide it."
    ' Handle missing data case
ELSE
    ' Use the data
END IF

Best Practices

1. Always check for empty - Keys may not exist for new users
2. Use consistent key naming - user_name vs userName vs name
3. Document your keys - Keep track of what data you’re storing
4. Handle missing gracefully - New users won’t have stored data
5. Don’t assume structure - Stored objects might have missing fields

See Also

• Memory Management - Complete memory architecture
• Multi-Agent Orchestration - Cross-bot data sharing
• User Context - User vs system context